The 2009 Ballon d'Or (), given to the best football player in the world as judged by an international panel of sports journalists, was awarded to Lionel Messi of Barcelona on 1 December 2009, the first of his record setting eight Ballon d'Or awards.
Messi won the award by a then record margin, 240 points ahead of 2008 winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Xavi was the second Barcelona player in the top three, finishing a further 63 points behind Ronaldo. Messi's win made him the first Argentine-born player to win the award since Omar Sívori in 1961; however, Sívori had taken Italian citizenship by that time and is recognised to have won the Ballon d'Or as an Italian player.
Rankings
RankPlayerNationalityClub(s)Points1Lionel Messi Barcelona4732Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United Real Madrid2333Xavi Barcelona1704Andrés Iniesta Barcelona1495Samuel Eto'o Barcelona Internazionale756Kaká Milan Real Madrid587Zlatan Ibrahimović Internazionale Barcelona508Wayne Rooney Manchester United359Didier Drogba Chelsea3310Steven Gerrard Liverpool3211Fernando Torres Liverpool2212Cesc Fàbregas Arsenal1313Edin Džeko VfL Wolfsburg1214Ryan Giggs Manchester United1115Thierry Henry Barcelona916Luís Fabiano Sevilla8Nemanja Vidić Manchester United8Iker Casillas Real Madrid819Diego Forlán Atlético Madrid720Yoann Gourcuff Bordeaux621Andrey Arshavin Arsenal5Júlio César Internazionale5Frank Lampard Chelsea524Maicon Internazionale425Diego Werder Bremen Juventus326David Villa Valencia2John Terry Chelsea228Franck Ribéry Bayern Munich1Yaya Touré Barcelona130Karim Benzema Lyon Real Madrid0
References
External links France Football Official Ballon d'Or page